Molten metal feeding apparatus



May 29, 1951 M. HUNTER 2,555,134,

' MOLTEN METAL FEEDING APPARATUS Filed Oct. 17. 1949 I 20 Jr 22 o v 3 0"27 28 I I I I. I 1| 7 \J I 30. Fl 6. I

INVENTOR.

AM RSHAL 1. NU r/m'fi Patented May 29, 1951 U N IT ED STATES EAT ENT wOF Fl CE vIVIOLTEN tMETALFEEDING APPARATUS -Marshall Hunter, Englewood,C010.

1 Application October '17, 1949; Serial No. 121,688

4 Claims. 1

This invention relates tozmoltenmetal feeding apparatus, and moreparticularly to apparatus for transferring molten metal from-onecrucible, which will be referredto as the first crucible, to another,which Willbe designated the receiving crucible.

The apparatus embodying my inventionis es pecially adapted to supplymetal for the pot of typesetting machines such as. Linotype,-.:Intertype, Ludlow, Monotype and kindred machines, but: may be employedfor feeding molten metal for other purposes. In the patented artrelating to metal feeding apparatus for machinesxof the characterreferred to, the crucible which I call the first crucible isdesignatedthe auxiliary pot and flthe. one which I name 'the'receivingcrucible is designated the main pot.

One of the objects-ofmy invention-is to. pro-' vide means for conveyingmoltenumetala from the first crucible to the receivingcrudiblerat apredetermined temperatureand to. :maintain said temperature uniformlythroughout theucon veying operation.

Another object of the invention is :to: provide means for conveyingmolten metal from aufirst crucible which is located at a distancefromzthe receiving crucible into which the metal is. to be transferred.Heretofore these crucibles have been located closely together.Frequentlythe first or auxiliary crucible has been mounted ,on thereceiving or main crucible, and in some: instances these crucibles havebeen mounted on the same frame or support. This arrangement isobjectionable because it requires that the size-of the first crucible belimited according tothe capacity of the receiving crucible to supportit, or according to the strength and space afforded by a common frame orsupport for both crucibles. By the improved construction hereindescribed, the first crucible may be supported ona floor, in anyconvenient location; and may be ofany desired or required size andshape, irrespective of the capacityor form of the receivingcrucible,which when used for supplying molten metal to a typesetting machinenecessarily is limited as to size and restricted to a specific locationin juxtaposition to the typesetting machine.

The fact that my first crucible may be of any desired capacity is agreat advantage in that it permits of loading the crucible withzscrapmetal, suchas ,dead slugs, cuttings fromsaws, trimmingsfromthe castingmachines, and the like, and obviates the necessity of casting ingotsforsuchfceding machines as use them. Aiull ,dayssupply of metalmaybe-loaded into the' fi'rst crucible, thus allowing ian operator orattendant go dismiss the thought of metal supply for the Anotheradvantage of this arrangement is the fact that the first crucible may besufficie ntly large to feed'more than one receiving crucible. Thus aplurality :of: typesettingmachines and their receiving crucibles :maybe' fed'from a single supply crucible-through: a plurality of metal feedlines of theicharacter to be described. ,JMy novelmechanism forconveying molten metal 'ata. uniform, predetermined temperature from asupply crucible to one or more receiving crucibles is an importantfactorin the successful operation of apparatus in which'thefirst crucible .andthe receiving crucible or crucibles are not mounted in: direct or closecommunication. witheach other.

:Another important feature of the invention is the mechanism by means ofwhich the molten metal in the receiving crucible is maintained at asubstantially constant level.

These and other advantages will be apparent from the drawings andfollowing specification.

Inthe drawings:

. Fig. l isan'elevational viewofpart of a typesetting machine and of myapparatus for feedingmoltenmetal thereto, said apparatus being shown.partly in section.

Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view of the apparatus-taken in the planeof the line 2-2 'of Fig. 1, looking in the'direction indicated by thearrows.

Fig. 31is anenlarged vertical sectional view of a. portionof'the floatcontrolled air line.

1 Fig. 4: is aztransverse sectional view, enlarged, through the metalconveying conduit between the first-crucible and. the receivingcrucible, the sectionbeing taken int-he plane of the line 4- -4 ofFig.11.

Fig. 5 is. a .verticalsectional view, enlarged, or" the valvecontrolled. intake: end of the metal conveyingconduit.

- In that embodimentof the invention shown in Figs. 1 to.5,:inclusive,the.first crucible, is des- ID may be varied according tothe capacity and the number of receiving crucibles it is intended tosupply with molten metal.

The contents of the crucible l preferably are heated by electricalmeans, such as the Calrod I6, or other suitable heating means capable ofmelting and maintaining the molten metal at required temperature. Metalfor typesetting usually is heated to 550 F. but the temperature requiredto melt different metals will vary. For example, if the apparatus werebeing employed to feed molten alloys which melt at relatively lowtemperatures, such as are used for coating fusible links and the like,much lower temperatures suffice to melt the alloys.

The receiving crucible is designated H as a whole. The construction ofthe receiving crucible may be varied and need not be described indetail. It is mounted on the frame l8 of a type casting machine and isprovided with a spout or throat IQ for feeding molten metal to a mold inthe mold wheel 20 of the type casting machine, as is well understood inthe art. The casting machine parts are not a part of this invention andneed not be described.

The mechanism about to be described constitu'tes the means for conveyingthe molten metal from the first crucible ID to the receiving crucible l1and for maintaining a substantially constant level in the receivingcrucible. This mechanism utilizes air to force the molten metal to passupwardly from the floor-supported crucible 10 to the raised receivingcrucible l1 and the air pressure is controlled by a moving part of thetype casting machine and by a float valve actuated by variations in thelevel of the molten metal in the receiving crucible. Thus the movingpart of the casting machine may operate an air pump which supplies airunder pressure to the metal conveying means at regular intervals whilethe casting machine is operating, but in the event the level in thereceiving crucible is such that no additional metal is needed, the floatvalve controlled by said molten metal level functions to prevent the airpressure from forcing additional metal to pass to the receiving crucibleand the air is by-passed and dissipated until the level in crucible I1is lowered and the float valve closes the air passage and again rendersthe air pressure effective to force metal into the receiving crucible,as will be explained in detail.

Said metal conveying means comprises an air pump indicateddiagrammatically at 2|, connected to an air conduit 22 whichcommunicates with one arm of a T-shaped valve member 23 best shown inFig. 3. The two part stem 24 of the T-member is constructed to provide ashoulder 25 interiorly of the stem to form a seat for the ball 26. Theball 26 is movable by the rod 21 of the float 28 but its upward movementis limited by the stop pin 23 projecting inwardly from the valve member23. The float is controlled by the level of the molten metal in thecrucible l1. When the ball 26 is seated on the shoulder 25, air in theconduit 22 passes through the valve member 23 into the air conduit 30which extends downwardly from the member 23 into a reservoir 3| whichconsists of a vertically disposed portion in continuation of the airconduit 30 and a horizontally disposed portion located in the firstcrucible ID. The vertically disposed portion of the reservoir 3| is alsolocated within the crucible l0, its upper end extending through thecover M.

This reservoir 3| will be referred to herein as a metal reservoir. It isimmersed in the molten metal in the first crucible In as best shown inFigs. 1 and 2. The form and construction of the intake member 32 of themetal reservoir 3| is shown in Fig. 5. The metal intake end 32 iscontrolled by a ball 33 seatable on the seat 34, the movement of theball being limited by the stop pin 35 projecting inwardly from the wallof the member 32. It will be seen from Fig. 5 that the metal reservoir3| enters the intake chamber as indicated at 36. The molten metal in thecrucible l3 seeks its level by entering the metal reservoir 3| throughthe opening controlled by the ball valve 33 and will fill thehorizontally disposed portion as well as part of the vertically disposedg 32 inside of a hollow tubular casing 38 which also houses anelectrical conduit 39 for heating oil, water or. other medium 43 formaintaining the metal conveying conduit 31 and its contents at desiredtemperature. If the molten metal in conduit 31 has a relatively lowmetling point, such as alloys which melt at less than the boiling pointof water, that medium may be employed, but for maintaining the desiredtemperature of molten metal such as is used in type casting machines, Ihave found oil to be a suitable medium. In Fig. 4 I have indicated bythe numeral 40 the medium surrounding the metal conveying conduit 31,which is heated by the electrical conduit 33. Insulating means 40confined in a hollow casing preferably surrounds the casing 33. It willbe understood of course that the tubular housing 38 is closed at itsends or at least at its bottom end to retain the heated medium 40. Thetubular housing 38 takes the form of an inverted U at its upper end 4|from which the metal conveying conduit 31 emerges, in such position thatthe molten metal is dropped into the receiving crucible l1.

Operation.Metal to be molten is placed in the inner casing l2 of thefirst crucible Ill. The heating medium I5 is supplied from any suitablesource of electrical current. The molten metal in the crucible It] seeksits level and unseats the ball 33 and enters the metal reservoir 3|through the horizontal intake 32.

The pump 2| is put into operation by any moving part of the typesettingmachine to which it is operatively connected or other timed mechanismmay be employed for this purpose. Air under pressure from the pumppasses into and through the air line 22 into the float controlled valvechamber 23. Assuming the receiving crucible 11 to be empty at thebeginning of the operation, the float 28 will be in its lowest positionand the ball 23 will be seated on the shoulder 25 and thus close thestem 24 and prevent passage of air outwardly therethrough. Thus the airfrom the conduit 22 must pass through the valve member 23 and into theconduit 30 which conveys the air under pressure to the top of the metalreservoir 3|, The air pressure against the body of molten metal in thereservoir 3| causes the ball valve 33 to seat on the seat 34 and closethe metal intake 32, and at the same time to force the molten metal fromthe reservoir upwardly into the conduit 31. In its travel upwardlythrough the conduit 31 the metal is maintained at uniform, predeterminedtemperature by the medium 40 in the tubular housing 38 as heretoforedescribed, and is conveyed through the conduit 31 into the receivingcrucible H. The desired temperature of the medium 49 preferably ismaintained by thermostatically controlled heating means.

When the level of molten metal in the receiving crucible I! has reacheda predetermined level, the float 28 will raise the rod 21 which unseatsthe ball 26. Thus the air entering the valve chamber 23 from pumpconduit 22 is bypassed and allowed to pass around the raised ball 26 andbe dissipated through the stem 24. The conduit 30 is thus deprived ofair under pressure and the valved opening in the metal intake 32 isagain free to open under influence of the molten metal in first crucibleI ll seeking its level, and metal enters the reservoir 3| to the levelof the metal in the crucible l0. Although the pump 2! continues to sendair into the passage 22, the conveying of the metal into the receivingcrucible I! is interrupted until the float 28 falls sufficiently toallow the ball 26 to close the valve chamber 23 and thus force the airinto the conduit 30 and to again exert pressure on the metal in thereservoir 3 I, whereupon the cycle of operations is repeated.

From the foregoing it will be understood that the relative size of thefirst crucible I0 may be increased, as compared to the receivingcrucible I1, and that a plurality of molten metal conveying linesstemming from a common or main conveying line, air lines and associatedmechanism may be employed to feed metal to a plurality of receivingcrucibles. By disassociating the first, or supply crucible ID from thereceiving crucible I1, and supporting it on a floor or other means notrestricted as to location and size, this important change may be made inthe existing methods of feeding metal to typesetting or other machines.The second important improvement which renders this advance possible isthe provision of means for conveying the molten metal the necessarydistance between the supply and receiving crucibles and maintaining apredeter mined temperature throughout the conveyance of the metal.

Changes may be made in the form of parts, in details of construction, inthe number of receiving crucibles, size of supply crucibles, and numberof metal conveying conduits, without departing from the scope of myinvention as set forth in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. Apparatus for feeding molten metal. from a supply crucible to areceiving crucible, comprising a metal reservoir communicating with saidcrucibles, said metal reservoir having a metal intake opening, an airinlet and an outlet, means for opening and closing said metal intakeopening, a pressure pump, an air conduit connecting the pump and themetal reservoir, an air chamber in the air conduit between said pump andmetal reservoir, an air by-pass opening in the air chamber, meanscontrolled by the level of metal in the receiving crucible for openingand closing said by-pass opening in the air chamber, and a metalconveying conduit connecting the metal reservoir outlet and thereceiving crucible.

2. Apparatus for feeding molten metal from a supply crucible to areceiving crucible, comprising a metal reservoir communicating with saidcrucibles, said metal reservoir having a metal intake opening located inthe supply crucible, air controlled means for opening and closing saidmetal intake opening, an. air inlet 6 and an outlet in said metalreservoir, a pressure pump, an air conduit connecting the pump and airinlet of the metal reservoir, an air chamber in the air conduit betweensaid pump and metal reservoir, an air by-pass opening in the chamber,means for closing and opening said by-pass opening in the air chamber,said means being controlled by the level of the metal in the receivingcrucible, and a metal conveying conduit connecting the metal reservoiroutlet and the receiving crucible.

3. Apparatus for feeding molten metal from a supply crucible to areceiving crucible, comprising a metal reservoir communicating with saidcrucibles, said metal reservoir having a metal intake opening located inthe supply crucible, air controlled means for opening and closing saidmetal intake opening, an air inlet and an outlet in said metalreservoir, a pressure pump, an air conduit connecting the pump and airinlet of the metal reservoir, an air chamber in the air conduit betweensaid pump and metal reservoir, an air by-pass opening in the airchamber, means for closing and opening said bypass opening in the airchamber, said means comprising a ball, a seat surrounding the by-passopening, a rod engaging the ball and movable in said opening, and afloat on said rod controlled by the level of the metal in the receivingcrucible, and a metal conveying conduit connecting the metal reservoiroutlet and the receiving crucible.

4. Apparatus for feeding molten metal from a supply crucible to areceiving crucible, comprising a metal reservoir communicating with saidcrucibles, said metal reservoir having a metal intake opening, an airinlet and an outlet, means for opening and closing said metal intakeopening, a pressure pump, an air conduit connecting the pump and themetal reservoir, an air chamber in the air conduit between said pump andmetal reservoir, an air by-pass opening in the air chamber, meanscontrolled by the level of metal in the receiving crucible for openingand closing said by-pass opening in the air chamber, and a metalconveying conduit connecting the metal reservoir outlet and thereceiving crucible, said means for opening and. closing the metal intakeopening comprising a seat adjacent said metal intake opening and a ballin the metal reservoir adapted to engage said seat, said ball beingforced by air pressure to close the intake opening when the by-passopening in the air chamber is closed.

MARSHALL HUNTER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 579,293 Capehart Mar. 23, 18971,228,793 Lee June 5, 1917 1,866,682 Temmen July 12, 1932 1,874,721Willis Aug. 30, 1932 1,930,727 Richardson Oct. 17, 1933 2,019,727 Quinnet al Nov. 5, 1935 2,135,183 Junghans Nov. 1, 1938 2,195,360 Daesen Mar.26, 1940 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 614,750 Great Britain Dec.2, 1948

